BREAKING: Biden Staffer, Former Time Reporter Jay Carney to Be Obama Press Secretary
January 27, 2011 No CommentThe Associated Press is reporting that former TIME magazine reporter and current Biden director of communications Jay Carney has been tapped to replace Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary. For our archive on Carney, click here .
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Click here to view this media Thinking that somehow this will refute the people who are criticizing him for inspiring terrorist acts and death threats against people he has targeted for national on-air vilification, Glenn Beck has dug up the peculiar case of Casey Brezik, a mentally ill (diagnosed schizophrenic) 22-year-old who last September tried to slash the throat of a man he mistakenly believed to be the governor of Missouri. (A more dispassionate account is here .) Well, there’s little doubt that Brezik is a far-left anarchist — but that doesn’t place him anywhere within the same political spectrum as mainstream liberals, other than that they are both generically somewhere on the Left. The same as American neo-Nazis are on the Right along with mainstream conservatives. More to the point, there’s no indication that anyone held Democratic Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon up for extreme demonization or that there was political discourse from the Left identifying him as the source of all evil. Rather the contrary. Brezik selected him not because he was inspired by any kind of mainstream liberal rhetoric (particularly not any broadcast on a major news network). This stands in rather stark contrast to the issues confronting Beck and his reckless and smear-laden demonization of people and institutions in a way that inspires violence. Because where that is the issue, we have more than one incident. We have many, many more. Let’s just say, for the sake of argument, that Glenn Beck’s incident with Brezik is indeed a case of left-wing violence. OK. Now let’s place that singular case up against this : Full details here. Tom Schaller discussed this in an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun recently, citing my work here: To my critics, I pose a simple challenge: Produce a comparable list of violent acts or attempted acts during the past two years perpetrated by those who support economic fairness, reproductive choice, universal health care, environmental protection, animal rights or any other liberal cause against corporate executives, pro-life organizers, small business owners or white evangelicals. Mind you, this list doesn’t even begin to assess the threats and assaults, which are so much more voluminous they’re much harder to track. (We’ll undertake that task shortly.)
Continue reading …A female missionary from the US was fatally shot in Mexico yesterday, the AP reports. Husband Sam Davis drove his wife, Nancy, 59, back over the border after gunmen in a pickup shot her in the head after trying to stop their vehicle, he told police. Davis drove against traffic…
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Image: Gawker There are some that herald Barack Obama as the greenest president in a long time. And it’s true — his administration has done more than any other in recent memory to reign in pollution and promote clean energy. Aggressive CAFE standards , a mobilized EPA, and clean energy stimulus in the Recovery Act were all jumps in the right direction. So he walks the walk — why isn’t he talking the talk? At least, not … Read the full story on TreeHugger
Continue reading …Authorities in Chile are launching an investigation into the death of former President Salvador Allende in 1973. His body was found in the presidential palace after it was stormed by the forces of Augusto Pinochet, who launched the military coup that toppled the socialist Allende. The investigation will try to…
Continue reading …Engadget interview: SCEA’s Jack Tretton talks Sony NGP, announces (and then denounces) PlayStation Suite for PS3
January 27, 2011 No Comment
Ever since his candid and humorous E3 2009 Sony keynote introduction — wherein he thanked the audience for showing up despite the big news ( PSP Go ) having already been leaked — we’ve always had something of a soft spot for Jack Tretton. We managed to have a sit-down with the SCEA President-CEO following the company’s big Tokyo meeting, a non-working NGP unit in tow. For a brief moment, Tretton “confirmed” that PlayStation Suite games (currently slated for Android devices) would work on PlayStation 3. We asked rather directly, to which he responded, “Yes, they will. Yeah.” By the next question, however, he explained that he might’ve misspoken and wanted to clarify that Suite is only NGP right now. It should come as no surprise, then, that there was no talk of Suite for any other devices, be it Bravia sets or Google TV. Tretton said there was at least one compatible Android device currently on the market but wouldn’t elaborate — given the 2.3 requirement, we’re presuming he meant the Nexus S . We weren’t able to get him to budge on the issue of the NGP’s price, but we did ask him to opine on the Nintendo 3DS’s $250 tag. Instead of offering friendly competitive jabs, he said only, “I think if the quality’s there, then the people will find a way to buy it, within reason… I think that if you could create content that consumers sees compelling, they’ll find money that they didn’t think they had.” A bit too reminiscent of former boss Ken Kutaragi’s old adages , but hey, it’s not like we expected a sub-$300 sticker, anyway. Some other highlights: Tretton wouldn’t definitively say whether or not original PSP titles are in Suite’s future — “at this point, it’s PlayStation One games, but I think it can go in a number of directions.” This runs a bit counter to what Kaz Hirai said earlier in the day, but either he might’ve misspoken or the translator erred. The controller overlay we saw used as an example at the event was just that — an example, with no guarantee of future use. That “holiday 2011″ launch applies to at least one territory, but Sony was “ambiguous for a reason” (i.e. simultaneous global rollout is a dream but far from a promise.) We probably won’t have a clearer image until fall rolls around, sometime after E3. No discussion on battery life, but Sony is “certainly look to improve upon [original PSP].” For what it’s worth, that one measured about 4.5 to 7 hours at launch, and Sony eventually sold an extended-life pack. PS Suite will have non-gaming apps. A WiFi-only version? “We haven’t made any determination on models yet,” which is infinitely more vague than the confirmation of non-3G SKUs from SCEE president Andrew House. Will Sony or a Sony partner make a flagship device to show off the Suite? A, dare we say, PlayStation phone ? “Stay tuned” was all Tretton would say, followed by a laugh. Hey, at least we acknowledged the elephant in the room. Full transcription after the break. Gallery: Sony NGP detailed hands-on Continue reading Engadget interview: SCEA’s Jack Tretton talks Sony NGP, announces (and then denounces) PlayStation Suite for PS3 Engadget interview: SCEA’s Jack Tretton talks Sony NGP, announces (and then denounces) PlayStation Suite for PS3 originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 Jan 2011 16:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …‘Selective Editing’: Jon Stewart Unfairly Rips Bill O’Reilly With Help From Left-Wing Media
January 27, 2011 No CommentYesterday, in this piece about Stephen Colbert, I mentioned Jon Stewart’s attack on Fox News
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During last night’s snowstorm, a cab was spotted burning on 2nd Ave in NYC shortly before suddenly exploding in close proximity to firefighters. According to the YouTuber who uploaded the video, no one was hurt. [ neighborhoodr .] Broadcasting platform : YouTube Source : The Daily What Discovery Date : 27/01/2011 21:25 Number of articles : 3
Continue reading …The indigenous Sami peoples in the Arctic have found a way to help reindeer survive the ravages of climate change—but we’re guessing the deer don’t like it too much. Fluctuating temperatures have been a challenge for the reindeer, because melting snow often refreezes and forms ice over the pastures…
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Wall Street executives, US regulatory agencies, and the US federal reserve are all being blamed in a new report into the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown. The country’s presidential commission also concluded the financial meltdown could have been avoided altogether. But even as it wraps up its two year inquiry, the 10-member panel remains sharply divided over the causes. The report reflects the views of six Democrats – while the four Republicans have written dissenting opinions. It also lays much of the blame on what it says are the “reckless” practices of financial firms like Fannie Mae, AIG and Bear Stearns. It says poor controls led to excessive borrowing and risky investments on mortgages. It also faults “weak” government regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and US Central Bank – for failing to rein in the banks they supervised. Singled out is former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan – for backing de-regulation practies that accelerated the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Lobbyists are also being heavily blamed. Al Jazeera’s Nick Spicer reports.
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